MATRIXSYNTH

Friday, February 29, 2008

Serge Creature and M-Class Panel on Carbon111

The Serge Creature and M-Class Panel pages are up! You can find them on the Serge section of Carbon111. You will find more info and images, so go check it out!

Pictured: Sequencer A.

DIY VOICE CHANGER KIT

Bookmarking this one for a rainy day. More info here.

Some notes via Drew on AH:
"There is very little info on the web about the WIN8072 IC that's in there, but it does an interesting job of mucking up the sound--it does vocoder like effects, frequency shifting, and harmonizing (all very crude, Lo-Fi, and rude, but fun for $16!) It's very interesting with pink noise through it, and does a halfway decent (but glitchy) pitch doubling sending a VCO through it.
If anyone wants to build one of these and wants to know my sloppy and unscientific mods, reply off list. It was VERY quick and easy to build, and at that price nearly disposable if you don't like it.
I may end up using this on Act 3 of my cartoon. I could easily see building a few of these for messing up drum tracks in stereo. It has its own built in noise gate (glitchy) as well.

A note of warning--my kit came with 2 sets of instructions. One was good, the other was so far off that it was obviously from a different but similar kit.

Has anyone here ever built a VCF using the THAT2180 or the DBX/THAT215X series?"

Analogue Heaven Northeast 2008

via Kyle on the Analog Heaven mailing list: "Gather up your analogs and come on down! AHNE 2008 (Analogue Heaven NorthEast) will be held on Saturday April 26 in Bolton, Massachusetts. Visit our website for more information at: link. deknow will kindly be hosting an afterparty nearby on Saturday evening. Thanks to Eric Crawley for getting this great thing started, and for all of the local volunteers helping out in so many ways!"

DIY MAQ 16/3

"My device is a replica of the building from the magazine elektor from the year 1993. Prozessorplatine und Bedienplatine sind orginal Doepfer. Processor board and Bedienplatine are original Doepfer. Die Potiplatine habe ich selber geroutet. The board voted Poti myself routed. Das Projekt habe ich im Jahre 2003 begonnen und erst jetzt nach fast 5 Jahren endlich zum Schluss gebracht. The project, I started in 2003 and only now, after nearly 5 years finally concluded. Große Probleme hat mir die Prozessorplatine gemacht, aber dazu weiter unten mehr. Major problems has given me the processor board, but see below for more information."

You can find more info on this German page and in Googlish here.

via Robert

Yamaha CS5 with MIDI

via this auction

"Yamaha CS-5 Synthesizer with integrated MIDI retrofit Kit. The CS-5 is in technical and optical excellent condition. The MIDI-port on the backside allows to control the CS-5 via MIDI note on/off. The CS-5 was used on many famous productions during the early 80ies like Depeche Mode Speak & Spell, Sigue Sigue Sputnik etc. The switchable Bandpass filter allows very distinct and interesting sounds."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Formant Synthesizer Ringmodulator Platine PCB

via this auction, via Gregor

"Original Formant Ringmodulator PCB. The PCB is from the original Elektor-Formant DIY Kit and has all necessary components soldered on it.

Perfect for Formant Owners who want to expand their sonic possibilities with a Ringmodulator."

Mini Case Deopfer Modular

via Alex

"It has has the following modules: A-145 -> A-146 -> A-114 -> A-116"

minicase.mp3

Update: I had a broken link for Alex's MySpace page, it's now updated. Check it out.

Mini Case Synth

RSF Kobol

image via Dennis

Roland RS-09 like Arp Solina

YouTube via Sketchboxx. via Nusonica.

Arduino Synth Revisited

via Narbotic

"I’ve decided to revisit my Arduino synth project from last September in hopes of creating a versatile synthesizer shield. I’m rather partial to the digitally-controlled-analog approach. I had an XR2206 function generator IC lying about, so I decided to put it to work as a possible core/VCO of this endeavor. It’s quite easy to set up for accurate sine wave generation though driving the frequency with a convenient voltage is still something I’m figuring out."

You can find the full post on Narbotic.

Flocking Orchestra Freeware (DT1)

YouTube via lockergnome
"http://live.pirillo.com - We in the live community are software addicts. I keep staying up way too late, playing with different software. The other night, I was scanning my RSS feeds, and came across this app that didn't sound very interesting at first... until I tried it out."

Here's the link to the download.

Atari Punk Console

YouTube via IINewIIVirusII
"New Atari Punk Console Build. These are for sale at www.circuit-benders.com"

MODULAR CASIO INFERNO MASSIF

YouTube via nevenen

Yamaha Electone Performance 'Kitaro Matsuri' by Jay

YouTube via tcchenrb. Sent my way via fischek.
"Jay's performance at kindergarden concert 2006."

Sherman Filterbank 2 / Schippmann Ebbe und Flut robot farts

YouTube via bigcitymusic
"Our friend Mike Dobler set up this feedback loop using the Sherman Filterbank 2, Schippmann ebbe und flut, and Moog MF-102 ring modulator. The feedback is created by the ebbe und flut being patched into the Sherman, Sherman out1 into Moogerfooger ring modulator (not shown), and ring modulator back into the ebbe und flut. Sound taken from Sherman out2. bigcitymusic.com"

Paul Tzanetopoulos' Analoglive! - Video

"Bringing together some of today’s leading composers, performers and designers for a real-time presentation of works centered around the revival of analog synthesis, Analoglive! was a concert held at the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theatre, REDCAT in Walt Disney Concert Hall, on November 16, 2007. "

click here for the full post including a video of Peter Grenader's "Part Four and Coda from 'The Secret Life of Semiconductors'" You can find previous Analoglive! posts here.

Update via Peter Grenader in the comments:
"One thing i must mention - the audio and the visual on this video are grossly out of sync. The three chords which begin this piece were sampled and I was facing the keyboard when i fired them off, which would have put my head facing Alessandro, who is perched on a platform to the left of the screen. In this vid I'm moving all over the place as they are sounding, back from/to Roland A33 to the modular (which is what I'm doing when my head's facing towards the right of the image). Also, the audio is coming off Paul's video recorder mono mic which was on stage left. You're not hearing half the sound from my synth which was coming out of the rear loudspeakers

There's Hollywod for ya."

Holtek HT36A4 8-Bit Music Synthesizer

"The HT36A4 is an 8-bit high performance RISC-like microcontroller specifically designed for music applications. It provides an 8-bit MCU and a 8 channel wavetable synthesizer. The program ROM is composed of both program control codes and wavetable voice codes, and can be easily programmed.

The HT36A4 has a built-in 8-bit microprocessor which programs the synthesizer to generate the melody by setting the special register from 20H~2AH. A HALT feature is provided to reduce power consumption.

Features
* Operating voltage: 2.4V~5.0V
* Operating frequency: 3.58MHz~12MHz (typ. 8MHz)
* 8 bidirectional I/O lines
* Two 8-bit programmable timer with 8 stage prescaler
* Watchdog Timer
* Built-in 8-bit MCU with 208×8 bits RAM
* Built-in 32K×16-bit ROM for program/data shared
* Mono output
* High D/A converter resolution: 16 bits
* Polyphonic up to 8 notes
* Independent volume mix can be assigned to each sound component
* Sampling rate of 25kHz as 6.4MHz for system frequency
* Eight-level subroutine nesting
* HALT function and wake-up feature to reduce power consumption
* Bit manipulation instructions
* 16-bit table read instructions
* 63 powerful instructions
* All instructions in 1 or 2 machine cycles
* 16-pin DIP/SOP package"

Click here for the product page.
Anyone know what these are used in or if anyone has done any DIY work with them?

Oh starry night

flickr by Paulkaiju
(click for more)

I picked this one for the name of the shot.

Be sure to check out V patch I as well.

Doepfer Modular
MOOG Little Phatty

Alesis Mircon Demo 2 By Tony 2008

YouTube via acaruso36. Follow up to this post.
"Sounds are all presets & programs from Alesis Micron Synth."

The ARP 2600: Oscillators Part 3

YouTube via AutomaticGainsay. Parts 1 and 2 here.
"Here is another chapter in the saga of the documentation of the ARP 2600's oscillator sound and functionality. Thank you for watching, everyone!"

Oberheim TVS

images via this auction

New Speak and Spell Schematic Added to Casper Electronics

click here for the post with link on Casper Electronics. Nice image/art.

E-70 o) Fool's Gold: the Alaska Overture [Ode to Electone]

YouTube via FlametopFred, via the Forum.
"by vamping on some UK and Supertramp, came up with this new composition that fuses the two ideas behind "Alaska" and "Fool's Overture"

Finding that the Yamaha E-70 home organ is a very inspirational (and fun) music making machine. Everyone should have one. Some assembly required."

Yamaha CS-5 repair

via Cliplead where you'll find info on how to remove the front panel as well as a link to a flickr set with more shots of the inside.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

TENORI-ON To Launch Worldwide

"In 2007, we held the exclusive UK launch exhibitions of TENORI-ON at Phonica Records London (4th Sept) and theMint Lounge Manchester (5th Sept). Following the huge TENORI-ON success in the UK, we can finaliy proudly announce to hold the TENORI-ON world Launch Tour." more info including the schedule here

Pt 2 Analogue Systems rs370 module 6-Voice Synth + MUCH more

YouTube via bigcitymusic.

Part 1 here.

"Here is part 2 in our demo of the multi-faceted rs370 eurorack module from Analogue Systems. Known as the "Polyphonic Harmonic Generator", it is a 6-voice polyphonic modular synthesizer w/ extensive control via MIDI and control voltages (CV) simultaneously. If that isn't enough it is also a polyphonic MIDI to CV converter!
* 6-voice polyphonic
* 4 oscillators per note
* 6 envelope generators( 6 stages and 10 control points) which can be patched out and back into the synthesiser
* 6 VCA's
* 2 LFO's (each with 5 waveforms plus midi sync etc)
* Arpeggiator (with 4 different modes and MIDI sync)
* 3 types of synthesis: Subtractive (using the built in analogue waveforms), Additive and Wavetable.
* 46 User Memory locations filled with 43 Factory Sounds that are held in Rom and can be overwritten or recalled at any time.
* Many outputs and inputs and further expansion can be obtained using either the rs375 or rs376 expander module."

Roland SH-101 + Juno-60 Analog Synthesizers by RetroSound

YouTube via retrosound72

"vintage synth demo by RetroSound
analog pads: Roland Juno-60
bass-seq: Roland SH-101, triggered by the TR-606
drums: Roland TR-606"

'The Moog Synthesizer featuring The Plastic Cow'

flickr by letslookupandsmile

full size

Me and my friend playing synths

YouTube via lewisjp8young. Sent my way via Dave.
"Terry did not know that i was recording him while he started to strut his funky stuff."
No this is not me nor Dave. I always use the title of the YouTube video, and Flickr shot for that matter, for the titles of posts. I can then easily search to see if I put something up by either the title or the YouTube via x.

polar 60 schmidtbauer nowakowski

I just updated this post on Polar 60 with a new video. Check it out.

220C Quarter Project Modeling the Emu Systems SP-12

"This is a project page describing the progress of my current 220C quarter project.

The Emu SP-12 is a sampler/drum machine unit that was released in the 80's. It allows the user to sequence loops using either internal drum sounds or sounds sampled into the machine. The machine allows for a total of 5 seconds of sampling time, which is separated into two banks of 2.5 seconds each. After sampling a sound into the SP-12, the user is able to edit the length at both the start and stop points, the tuning of the sound, the decay of the sound, loop points, and also are able to send the sound through an analog dynamic filter.

The goal of this project is to develop a program that allows the user to input some .wav file, and get back a sound that sounds like it was sampled by the Emu SP-12. This project is both a study of modeling equipment through circuit analysis/testing, and a study of why the dirty sound of the SP-12 sound is so popular."

click here for more. via Walkathon

Wall of Phoenix - Mattson Mini Modular

What you are looking at is the first eight Phoenix Edition Mattson Mini Modulars. Each base system consists of two cabinets that fold together into a little suitcase with a handle on each cabinet. This makes it simple to carry either each cabinet individually, or together latched and closed. This entire system is actually latched together. For each individual system, the left cabinet holds ten modules with a power supply and MIDI-CV converter, and the right has space for twelve additional modules which you can order individually at any time. You can latch as many systems together as you like in whatever configuration as you like.

The system pictured here would consist of roughly 16 cabinets x 12 modules for a total of 192 modules, or 176 modules not including the power supplies and MIDI-CV (the Ms are blank panels). Note that with this setup you would be able to run eight individual MIDI channels into the system - think 8 tracks of modular mayhem.

This image is of course of the reflective logos on back of each cabinet. Note the hardboard backs referred to in this previous post. The contrast with the logo looks very nice. You can see the custom wood back of Serial #1 on the bottom left. The non-reflective one is mine, Production Prototype #1. All other systems will have the reflective logos and hardboard backs.

BTW, be sure to click the images for the full size shots. You can find a few more in this flickr set. Click an image followed by the All Sizes link when you get there.

Update: They actually do lock together vertically. I updated the post above to reflect this. Via George Mattson: "They lock together vertically also so the entire structure is latched solidly together. If you look at the unfinished pix of the cabinets (from the front), you’ll notice four squares mounted to the inside of the backs about 1” from each edge. Those are the support spacers for the 8-32 T-Nuts that are epoxied to the back.

On the back, you can see the heads of those 8-32X3/8 screws waiting quietly in the corners screwed into the T-Nuts.

I supply two-3” straps made out of 13ga steel with slotted holes on each end. One of the straps locks the cabinets together when the system is closed. Both straps can be used for structural support by mounting them between cabinets (horizontally or vertically) using those 8-32 screws screwed into the T-nuts in the corners."

Robert Henke Workshop and Monodeck Explanation

This one was sent my way via Hielo Patagonia Sounds where you can find some info in French (Googlish). The video was filmed by Tom Cosm. Before you hit play, be warned that this is a long one at roughly one hour and thirty five minutes, but it is interesting. It starts with Ableton's spectrum analyzer and the Operator FM synth followed by the Monodeck II. If you are pressed for time, you can forward to 19:55 to see the Monodeck II shortly followed by it's use. In short the Monodeck was created by Robert Henke to control Ableton. You might remember it from these previous posts. Directly below is a shorter video of the original Monodeck prototype.

Ableton Artist: Monolake on Monodeck

YouTube via AbletonInc

QWERTY Keyboard analog synth

YouTube via elvisjer
"A home-made synthesizer based off of an old function generator and a standard qwerty board. Three wave types--sin, square, sawtooth--and HI+LO outputs. It connects to the keyboard with a stereo 1/4" cable (TRS) so new controllers can be made."

Moog Synth: Advanced Sequencer

YouTube via DoKashiteru. You might remember him from these videos.
"Visit our website to see more stuff: http://do.k.music.googlepages.com"
Little Einsteins.

moodula

YouTube via junkyyykkk
"It's a performance with my machines ... Vostok (analoguesolutions.com), a qsp 44 (synthesizers.com), a portable doepfer a-100 (doepfer.de), bombass2 (acidlab.de) everything is sequenced with reaktor5 (nativeinstruments) and massive for drums!"

MooCowMusic Drummer

YouTube via HirnW
"The iPhone Drum Pad. Played by the iBand's drummer.
For iPhone and iTouch.
www.moocowmusic.com
www.iband.at
To hack an iPhone might void your warranty!"

BTW, the iPhone SDK is coming in March. :) I can't wait to see what comes out of that. For those not familiar with the term SDK, it stands for Software Development Kit. Apple will be opening up the iPhone to 3rd party developers, so music applications and soft synths are shure to come and you will not have to void your warranty. What I am curious about is if there will be restrictions in what and how you can load apps to your iPhone as poorly written code could result in major support issues/costs for Apple.

Moog Little Phatty Tribute into Fulltone Tube Tape Echo TTE

YouTube via bigcitymusic
"Duron is playing our Moog Little Phatty Tribute Edition synthesizer through the Fulltone Tube Tape Echo (TTE)."

Moog voyager solo jam time

YouTube via filtersweeperVCO
"Here's me, Jay Bos noodling on the ol' moog voyager. I'm using the F7 preset title 'T wolf guitar'"

Cynthia Zeroscillator in Synthesizers.com Format

via this auction
"Here is some info from cyndustries.com: Dr. John Chowning first described FM Synthesis technique in 1967. Since that time, no analog quadrature oscillator with through-zero capability and dynamic linear FM control has been commercially available... until now! Cyndustries is proud to announce a major breakthrough in analog VCO design, the amazing Zeroscillator. Liquid Smooth Analog Design The Zeroscillator is a full-featured electronic- music- quality analog VCO capable of linear frequency modulation through zero hertz and into negative frequencies. This makes it capable of the FM Synthesis stuff, wild and crazy sounds simply not available from traditional VCOs, and timbres not available from digital FM synthesizers. Of course, Zeroscillators also make insane LFOs! Traditional FM Synthesis oscillator implementations, such as the DX-7, are sine wave only. The Zeroscillator also makes available sawtooth, reverse saw, triangle, pulse (with PWM), and a special set of four quadrature outputs capable of unique bi-phase wave morphing, (more on that later). Look Ma'... No Aliasing! FM sounds take on their vibrant life when the amount of modulation is varied dynamically. In the analog world, this requires a special VCA to regulate the depth of frequency modulation, (often called the "modulation index"). Since this is required almost universally for Linear FM patches, the Zeroscillator has this VCA built-in. We decided however, to take this feature one extra step beyond and provide you with a four-quadrant multiplier instead of a traditional two-quadrant VCA to expand your modulation possibilities into the unexplored. The output of this multiplier is available at the panel, so you get a free ring-mod function and an interesting pick-off point for self-modulation patches called Mod Out. In addition to it's precision 10-turn tuning knob, the Zeroscillator has 1V/octave plus attenuated exponential inputs and can behave just like the VCOs you're used to. You are not forced into any specific modality and are free to use all or any subset of its 7 different modulations: 1-Exponential FM 2-Linear Through-Zero FM 3-Linear FM Dynamic Depth Modulation 4-Bi-Phasic Waveform Morphing in Quadrature 5-Pulse Width Modulation 6-Variable Sync (from none to hard synch) 7-Time Reversal The through-zero capability may be switched off which bars the oscillator from reaching into the negative frequency netherworld. If the linear modulation goes negative, the oscillator simply stops, restarting when the modulation returns to positive territory. This results in another class of sounds and is also very interesting and rhythmic when used at LFO rates. Now back to the Quadrature Outputs with Bi-phase Wave Morphing. These four outputs present the oscillator waveform at four different relative phases separated by 90 degrees (0, 90, 180, 270). If the 0 and 90 degree outputs are presented to the left and right speakers respectively, a definite stereo spread effect is obtained, and when the oscillator beats with its modulator, harmonic characteristics shift back and forth across the stereo image. This effect is unique to the Zeroscillator. Quadrature Waveform Voltage Controlled Wave Morphing in Four Phase Quadrature At LFO rates, the quadrature outputs can be used to control quad panning or create circular illusions. Remember, when the Zeroscillator is heavily FM'ed, the waveforms fold back on themselves and create patterns that look nothing like the waveforms on the label. This ain't your Daddy's oscillator! You can also morph the waveform coming from the quadrature outputs from triangle to sine to square! The 0, 180 pair and the 90, 270 pair have separate morphers which can move in tandem or opposition to each other. The morph is not simply a waveform crossfade, but a true morph which creates all the in-between waveforms in its travel and it can even be modulated at full audio rates! The morph is also constant-power which means the perceived loudness does not change as the harmonic content is being radically altered. With the morph feature, youll find yourself not needing a filter in a great many patches. We even threw in the kitchen, (Sync that is)... The Zeroscillator has Variable Synchronization from, "no sync at all... "to Totally Hard Sync". You just dial-in the right amount for your particular patch, (for classic FM type synthesis, you'll be glad you have this control on a dedicated knob). Finally, there is the mysterious "Time Reversal" Input, (which is actually what occurs when the oscillator passes into negative frequencies). Your external signal here forces the waveform to reverse its direction of travel as seen on an oscilloscope. The resulting effect is most similar to hard sync, but a completely separate circuit, and they both may be used together. Traditionally, a VCO was something that gave you a tone, a starting place from which you built your sound with other modules. The Zeroscillator however, is practically a synthesizer unto itself."

Hammond Condor GSM

images via this auction

"This is the Condor synthesizer made by Hammond in the early 70's. It has slider controls for vibrato. Intensity and rate, treble, bass sensitivity, tone and volume. It also has organ type switches for repeat, attack ,tremolo/ vibrato, sub-octave, dynamute, fuzz, oboe, sitar, natural amplify, sopano sax, tuba, oboe, english horn, cello, clarinet and a few others. There is an e tuner control, a switch for mono and stereo and a silver bar, push all controls return to normal! There are also some adjustments on the bottom of the synth."

This model was used by Jimi Hendrix and Kraftwerk according to the auction.

Jacques Singing Geisha

images via this auction

"rare Jacques Singing Geisha Synth Siren Wah. Only 150 of these were ever produced and distributed. This is an unusual multi-effect pedal that can be used as either a straight wah, or with a combination of great effects. The pedal actually contains a synth chip that incorporates wacked-out sci-fi madness. It also features a " Sing " feature, which to me sounds similar to the siren effects of some 1970's era pedals. This device works on either a 9volt battery, or can also be powered with a Boss Type connector for powered pedalboards."

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Tapewarm Modular

via daddio of Tapewarm.

A few more images:
close up
0 rear 1
0 rear 2

And a noodle:

"first thirty seconds, exp. fm input at about ~8:00
second thirty seconds, exp. fm input increased gradually to full
last thirty seconds, back to ~8:00
patch:
SoC (top row) modules triggered by lfo (second row)
0 triggered by SoC, fm input from an LFO
4 outputs of 0 (colored cables, sine triangle and two ramps) sent to VC mixer (bottom) controlled by Morph controller (bottom) so each waveform alternately takes prominence over time in the mix."

KBH & Monome & iPod Touch - akaRemote demo

YouTube via djcylob. via Wiingo Shackleford in the comments of the previous post.
"This video shows my DJ application, Kombine BeatHarvester, being controlled by a Monome 128 and an iPod Touch running akaRemote. These devices send Open Sound Control messages back to KBH (which has been made in SuperCollider). The following features are demonstrated: track browsing and selection, deck loading, random access, reverse, looping, skipping, granular fx, frequency shifting, filter, stuttering, repeating, delay, comb delay. The crossfader and mixing of tracks is not shown here, maybe another time!"
Update: If you are in London this Saturday, March 1st, you can catch this live at:
SuPlex at the Korsan Bar, 161-165 Kingsland Road, London, E2 8AL.
more info at: http://www.plexlondon.net/

iBand

YouTube via HirnW

Sent my way via brian c. You can see a write up on Wired here.

"The first iPhone band. More songs to come. www.iband.at"
That would be Electroplankton on the Nintendo DS.

Doepfer A-105 SSM filter Kick Drum

VAC has a mini review up on the Doepfer A-105 with a sample. You can find it here.

Studio Shot

This one via Mike

Spot the synths

Roland Juno-106 synth - unison mode

YouTube via hamsterdunce aka dave of http://umop.com/ (The Packrat, RTB and Parallax). He also did the graphics for a number of Metasonix products including their new amp. :)
"This synth dates all the way back to 1984, as does my inner adolescent as I attempt to explain the very first trick I ever learned on a synthesizer: How to enter unison, or monophonic (solo) mode. My synth sounds like crap in this mode. Maybe yours sounds better? Watch and pretend that learning is fun!"

Update via Tratt in the comments: "I recently had some time to fiddle around and have compiled a proof-of-concept firmware with unison detune spread, see http://nydell.se/projects/j106 for more info. Give it a couple of months and I'll hopefully have a more complete J106 update."